Swivel attachment-plug for electrical connections.



PATBNYTED OCT. 6, 1903.

T. VAN ALLBR. SWIVEL ATTACHMENT PLUG FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

uruoumn FILED we. 2, 1902.

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H0 MODEL.

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PATENTED 001 6, 1903 T. VAN ALLER. v \SWIVEL ATTACHMENT PLUG FOR ELECTRICAL GGNNEGTIONS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGfZ, 1902.

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Fatented October 6, 190 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TYGHO VAN ALLER, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK.

SWIVEL ATTACHMENT-PLUG FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

srncrnrcnrro'n forming part of. Letters Patent No. 740,952, dated October 6, 1903.

Application filed August 2, 1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TYoHo VANALLER, a citizen of Denmark, and a resident of the city and county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swivel Attachment-Plugs for Electrical Connections, of which the fol-' lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to attachment-plugs for making electrical connections; and the object of my invention is to provide aswivel attachment-plug for making electrical connections which may be turned freely into a lamp-socket or other receptacle without twisting the leading wires and which may be readily manipulated with one hand. I attain this object by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an outside view of my swivel attachment-plug. Fig.2 is avertical section of the same at X X, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view with thecover B removed. Fig. 4 is a cross-section at Y Y, Fig; 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-section at Z Z, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the bottom piece 0. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the connection-piece F. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the contact-piece E, Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section at X X, Fig. 6. Figs. 10 and 11 are top plan views of modified forms of my invention. Figs. 12 and 13 are vertical sections of modified forms of my invention.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A is the main body of the plug, to which the other parts are attached, and is made of porcelain or other insulating material.

B is the cover to' the part A and is also made of porcelain or other insulating material and is secured to the main body A by the screw I, which meshes in the screw-hole J of the piece E, Figs. 2 and 3. The covering 13 has an opening to admit the leading-in wires, as shown in Fig. 2.

G is the lower portion of the plug and is also made of porcelain or other insulating material and is fastened to the part A by means of the screw K, as shown in Fig. 2.

The part 0 serves three purposes-first,

$erial No. 118,052. (No model.)

it forms an insulating-barrier between the two parts K and F; secondly, its narrow or upper end constitutes a guide for the stationary contact-piece F and the revolving threaded part D, and, finally, its shoulder or enlarged portion forms a seat for contact-piece F when the plug has been screwed home, as will be fully explained later on.

D is the'outside covering of the part A and is made of brass or other metal and is provided with a screw-thread constructed to fit an Edison lamp-socket or other receptacle in which it is designed to be used and is at its lower or smaller end bent so as to form a rim or flange at right angles to the threaded part. To this threaded part D the part H is securely attached in any suitable manner, so as to entirely surround the enlarged end part of A and cover 13. The part H is preferably made of fiber or other insulating material and de-- fully in the further description of my invention.

E is a contact-piece made of brass or other metal and attached to the part A by a screw L, which screw L also fastens and connects the part E with the part F, as shown'in Fig. 2, the screw L serving two purposes first, holding the piece E and F firmly to the porcelain piece A, and, secondly, establishing an electrical connection between E and F.

The piece E is also provided with a con- 7, tact-screw N, Figs. 2 and 3, to which lead or flexible wire is attached. The piece E is also provided with a hole J, in which the screw I meshes to hold the cover in place, as before described.

The connection-piece F, Fig. 7, is made of brass or other suitable metal and is formed with its lower part in the form of a ring, as shown, which fits freely around the upper end of the part 0. The upright portion of the part F fits in recesses in the porcelain parts A and O, as shown by the spaces 3 in Figs 2, 4, 5, and 6, thereby preventing any of the parts A, O, and F from turning after the screw K has been drawn home, as shown in Fig. 2.

The piece F is cut out, as shown in Fig. 7, at 4, so as to make it long enough to reach the screw L, as shown in Fig. 2, and it is at its upper end bent and provided with a threaded hole, into which screw L fits, Fig. 2.

The piece F may be stamped or punched out of one piece of sheet metal and bent as shown in Fig. 2 or may be made in any desirable way. I do not limit myself to the ex act shape here shown; but the ring at the lower end of F may be omitted or the upright part bent so that the lower end may come in contact with the sides of the part D, if desired. This would, however, be less desirable, as the sliding or rubbing of piece F against the sides of part D would cause some friction and Dwould revolve less freely on porcelain piece 0, thus causing A to revolve with D unless held with the other hand.

The contact-piece G may be made of brass or any suitable metal and serves two purposes. First, it is provided with a con nectionscrew M, to which lead-wire,com monly known as flexible lamp-cord, may be attached, and, secondly, it contains the threaded hole for the screw K to enter, as shown in Fig. 2,

thus establishing an electrical connection between the connection-screw M and the bottom contact of the plug or head of the screw K.

The contact-pieces E and G are preferably made with angles, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby making it much easier to securethe wires to said contact-pieces and also to give the wires a direct pull in the direction through which the wires are inserted through the opening in the cover B without being bent materially; but I do not limit myself to the exact shape here shown.

H is the shoulder portion of the plug,which does not enter into the lamp-socket or other receptacle. It is preferably made of fiber or other insulating material and is firmly attached to the threaded part D in any suitable manner, as by being firmly held by pressure upon the sides or by having the lower portion of 11 smaller and attached by screws or rivets; but H may be of any suitable material. The object of having it fiber or other insulating material is to provide against an electrical shock while handling the plug and also to provide some suitable means by which the threaded piece D can be readily turned while inserting the plug in the lamp-socket or other receptacle, or the portion D may be carried up, so as to dispense wholly or in part with the separate part H; but it is preferably made as here shown. By making H of fiber it will also protect the porcelain parts A and B from breakage in ordinary use or in case of a fall or accident. It will be seen that by having the parts A and B entirely surrounded by the parts D and H the possibility of the operator grasping the parts A and 13 while inserting the plug, and thereby causing those parts to revolve with the parts D and H, is

the operator by the piece or shoulder H, which being attached firmly to the threaded part D the threaded part D is readily screwed into the socket or receptacle. When the head of the screw K strikes the contact-piece in the lamp-socket, the part D will be forced against the part F at 6, Figs. 1 and 2, thereby establishing an electrical connection between the threaded part of the lamp-socket through the threaded part D to the part F and from there through the screw L to the contactpiece E and the connection-screw N to one leading-in wire. The other electrical connection has already been made the moment the head ot' the screw K touches the bottom contact in the lamp-socket or other receptacle, thus establishing electrical connection through the screw K, contact-piece G, and connection-screw M to the other leading-in wire. Made in this way the plug has few parts and none that are likely to be out of order.

The plug may be readily inserted in the lamp-socket by using only one hand and without any danger of twisting the wires or breaking them.

If desired, the porcelain piece A could be extended farther downward, so as to take on the top part of the piece 0 and leave the piece 0 simply a flat bottom, as shown in Fig. 12, without interfering with the other parts of my invention, or, if desired, the porcelain piecesA and 0 could be made in one'piece and provided with agroove on line Z Z, Fig. 2, as shown in Fig.13. This arrangement would make it necessary to press the lower end of part D into said groove and would not make a very satisfactory construction.

I have in the foregoing specification described and shown my swivel attachmentplug with only two leading-in wires or cables. Of course the same swivel attachment can be still more advantageously employed in a multiple-circuit attachmentplug, or as they are commonly known current-taps, where several sets of wires are connected to the same plug, either direct to the same binding-screws orto additional contact-screws, as well known to the art.

While I have shown this swivel attachment- IIO plug without fuse, it can readily be understood that there is nothing to hinder me from providing it with a fuse; but as this feature has nothing to do with my invention I have omitted it altogether. For the same reason has the customary knot in the leading-in wires been omitted.

What I claim as my invention, and to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. An attachment-plug for making electrical connections, consisting of a body made of insulating material; a covering entirely surrounding the same,the lower part of which is composed of metal, threaded to fit the socket into which it is designed to be inserted and the balance of each covering composed of a non-conducting material of greater circumference than the metallic portion, said covering adapted to be freely revolved about the body of said plug; means for making an electrical connection between the sides of the socket and said metallic covering to one of the leading-in wires and between the contact bottom of the socket to the other leading-in Wire, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

2. In aswivel attachment-plug for making electrical connections, a body composed of insulating material; a covering surrounding the same, composed partly of metal threaded to fit the socket into which it is designed to be inserted, and the balance of said covering composed of insulating material of greater circumference than the metallic portion, and adapted to be taken by the hand in screwing said plug in the socket, and arranged and adapted to revolve freely around said body; a leading-in wire; a contact-piece connected with said wire, a connecting-screw extending through a portion of the body of the plug, and electrically connecting said contact-piece at one end of said screw with a connecting arm at the other end of said screw; said connecting-arm adapted to come in contact with the said metallic cover when inserted in a socket whereby an electrical connection is made between the side of the socket and the said leading-in wire, in combination with andesire other leading-in wire, a second contact-piece connected with said wire, a screw or arm ex tending from said contactrpiece to the bottom of said plug and adapted to come in contact with the bottom contact of the socket whereby an electrical contact will be made between the second leading-in wire and the bottom contact of the socket, substantially as described.

3. A swivel attachment-plug for making electrical connections, consisting of a body composed of insulating material, said body consisting of two parts, an upper part and a lower part, said lower part being held to the upper part by means of a screw or bolt passing vertically through the center of the said body, the said lower part being enlarged at its lower portion forming a shoulder adapted to supof the plug composed in' whole or in part of metal arranged and adapted to revolve horizontally around the sides of said body; a

leading-in wire; means for making electrical connections between said leading-in wire and the side of the socket into which said plug is inserted through said electrical connectingarm; anotherleading-in wire; means for making an electrical connection between said last-na med wire and the bottom contact-piece.

of the socket through said screw or bolt holding the parts of said body together, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a swivel attachment-plug for making electrical connections, a body of insulating material composed partly of a part A extending from near the bottom end of the plug, which is to be inserted in the socket, to the cover of the plug, leaving a chamber or recess under the cover adapted to contain the attachments of the leading-in wires and their connections or connecting parts; the cover B of insulating material adapted to be attached to said body A and having an aperture for. the insertion of the leading-in wires; the bottom part 0 of the body of the plug composed of insulating material and held to the portion A by the screw K extending vertically through the center of the plug; the metallic contactpiece, G, located in the chamber formed in the upper portion A of the body of the plug, and having one arm or portion extending in the direction of the entrance of the leadingin wire; and means for connecting said leading-in wire with said arm of said contactpiece; and means for connecting the other portion of said contact-piece, G, with the screw K extending vertically through said plug; the screw, K, extending vertically through said plug and holding the parts, 0 and A of the body of the plug together, the lower end of said screw K adapted to make an electrical contact at the bottom of the socket; the metallic piece, E, located in the recess of the chamber formed in the upper portion of the part, A, of the plug, and having one arm or portion thereof extending in the direction of the entrance of one of the leading-in wires, and adapted to be connected with said wire, the body of the contact-piece adapted to be connected by a screw L extending therefrom through a portion of the body A of the plug, and adapted to connect with the arm F; the connectingarm, F, extending from the screw L to the bottom of the portion A of the body of the plug, and adapted to come in contact with the metallic portion of the covering of the plug; and a covering entirelysurrounding said body of said plug, the

lower portion of which covering is composed Signed at Albany, New York, this 28th day of a threaded metal and the upper portion of of July, 1902.

which is composed of insulating material the whole covering adapted to freely rev olve TYCHO VAN ALLER' 5 around the body of said plug, all substaan- Witnesses: v

tially as described and for the purposes set WALTER E. WARD,

forth. l DUDLEY B. WADE. 

